12.18.2014

Sign up for THINK BIG! e-course with Molly Hatch and Ben Carter

Have you ever wanted to collaborate with a big company like Anthropologie? Publish a book? Sell more of your work? Join Molly Hatch and I for THINK BIG! a branding course for ceramic artists.

In today's art market, artists have to be more than just makers. We are makers, marketers, sales people, web designers, and so much more. Think Big! is a six week series of interviews with successful ceramic artists, art agents, dream clients and book editors. This series of interviews is designed to help you build the skills you need to expand your creative business, learn some tricks of the trade and think beyond the traditional methods of reaching your market.

Each week has a themed conversation built around a topic that will help you discover ways to find new audiences, market your business, sell your work, and collaborate with larger companies. These interviews are available at your own pace and will be released once a week for six consecutive weeks. After all the lectures have been posted, you will have an additional six weeks to access course information and bonus materials.

We encourage participants to discuss the videos each week with a prompted discussion group online. Through the discussion board you can connect with other members of the series and reflect on questions and new ideas that come up for you each week. Molly and I will be watching the group discussions and joining in to add our experience with the topic. The discussions are ongoing and accessible throughout the entire series, so you can participate at your own pace, regardless of your time zone.

In addition to the weekly interviews and discussions we will post downloadable worksheets that will help you define your marketing message and come up with new ways to promote your business. The worksheets are for you to keep and work through as you engage with the course material. By the end of the six weeks, you will have gathered new thoughts and ideas, and you will have a clear direction moving forward in your creative business--on to BIG THINGS!

KleinReid is a small, design-driven studio producing finely crafted work from their New York City studio for over twenty (20!) years. Their hand-made work incorporates a variety of time-honored studio and industrial techniques. Their dense, translucent porcelain is hand-mixed from their own recipes. Their glazes complement their refined forms. Every new collection elegantly conveys goals that have remained consistent since KleinReid's inception: thoughtful design, fine craftsmanship and lasting beauty.

Week 3: Whitney Smith

Whitney writes, "My relationship with clay began in 1994 with my first wheel-throwing class at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz. I had an instant rapport with clay, and I spent my first years as a potter single-mindedly pursuing a mastery and understanding of my new love. Early on, I was lucky enough to work for other professional ceramic artists where I learned not only the basics of running a production ceramic studio, but given a window into a world where people supported themselves making their art. In 2000, I finally made the leap into full-time ceramic artist, working solely for myself, making the work I love to make. It has been, and continues to be, an incredible journey where I am constantly challenged by my chosen medium to always be better, learn more, and to meet the peculiar demands of being a full-time artist in the world."

Week 4: Arlene Scanlan, Co-Founder Moxie & Co.

Between the two of them, Moxie’s founding partners, Arlene Scanlan and Laura Becker have more than 50 years combined experience in the licensing industry. From their work on building classic properties like Peanuts and Garfield right through to a more recent collaboration with Urban Outfitters on a custom bike and Cole Haan on an exclusive MTA advertising partnership, Moxie and Company is truly the culmination of the knowledge, experiences, skills and successes that the principals have gathered in their journey along the sometimes turbulent, but always exciting, licensing super highway. In building Moxie & Co. and the properties they represent, they have focused on extending their valuable iconic brand assets into lucrative franchises that endure.

Mary Ann is an experienced publishing professional specializing in innovative, illustrated art and technique books. For 12 years, she led the art and crafts publishing program for Quarry Books and is currently editorial director for Quarry Books and Rockport Publishers developing books on art, crafts, design, artisan food and lifestyle topics. Currently based in Shaker Heights, Ohio, she is a Midwesterner who has lived the largest part of her life elsewhere and an urbanite who loves to hang out in woods. As a serial enthusiast, she enjoys many creative pursuits, including Burmese cooking, zydeco dancing, hiking, hot yoga, painting, reading, and having adventures with her children.

Week 6: Jennifer Rome- Head of Artist Collaborations for Anthropologie Home

Anthropologie is a multi-channel lifestyle brand that sells women’s clothing and accessories, home furnishings, found objects, gifts and décor. Anthropologie products are an expression of our customer's appreciation for artfulness and good design. To that end, our buyers and designers travel the world to uncover special products and to collaborate with talented artisans. Jennifer Rome has worked at Anthropologie for over 9 years and oversees all artist collaborations in the home category.

To find out more about your hosts for THINK BIG! please visit our websites.